HELIX HEALTH, the provider of healthcare software, made a pretax profit of €1.24 million in 2009, accounts filed at the companies office show. This compares to a pretax profit of almost €753,000 in the previous year.

Net profits more than doubled to €1.6 million, as turnover for the group increased 16 per cent to €11.8 million and its cost of sales fell. At the year’s end, the group had shareholder funds of €3.4 million.

The increase in profits follows the Tallaght-based company’s merger with Health Ireland Partners, its then largest competitor, in February 2009.

The directors of the company include outgoing FF TD Tom Kitt. The other directors listed in its accounts are David Raethorne, Howard Beggs, Peter Murray, Maurice Cox and Nicholas Strong.

Lar Bradshaw, the former director of Anglo Irish Bank, was a director of Helix Health until the end of March 2010. Mr Bradshaw charged the company €12,000 for business services during the year.

The firm’s balance sheet shows it had fixed assets of €32.4 million as of the end of 2009.

The accounts show that the bulk of the group’s turnover (€11.6 million) relates to its business in the Republic, with the rest in the UK.

The firm employed an average of 95 people during the year, up from 85 in 2008. Of these, 22 were involved in software development.

Payroll costs were €4.8 million, a similar sum to the previous year, while directors’ remuneration amounted to €474,000, down from €630,000 in 2008. The equity dividends on ordinary shares for the year came to €989,409.

The group had bank loans of €1.95 million at the end of 2009.